10 6
Barley " 2 9 Barley " 7 2
Dutch oats for seed 1 8 Dutch oats for seed 3 6
Clover seed, per cwt. 1 11 6 Clover seed, per cwt. 5 10 0

The summer of 1783 was amazing and portentous and full of horrible
phenomena, according to White, with a peculiar haze or smoky fog
prevailing for many weeks. 'The sun at noon looked as blank as a
clouded moon, and shed a rust-coloured ferruginous light on the ground
and floors of rooms.' This was succeeded by a very severe winter, the
thermometer on December 10 being 1 deg. below zero; the worst since
1739-40.

In 1788 occurred a severe drought in the summer, 5,000 horned cattle
perishing for lack of water.[499] In 1791 there was a remarkable
change of temperature in the middle of June, the thermometer in a few
days falling from 75 deg. to 25 deg., and the hills of Kent and Surrey were
covered with snow.

We have now to deal with one of those landowners whose great example
is one of the glories of English agriculture. Coke of Holkham began
his great agricultural work about 1776 on an estate where, as old Lady
Townshend said, 'all you will see will be one blade of grass and two
rabbits fighting for that;' in fact it was little better than a rabbit
warren. It has been said that all the wheat consumed in the county of
Norfolk was at this time imported from abroad; but this is in direct
contradiction to Young's assertion, already noted, that there were in
1767 great quantities of wheat besides other crops in the county.
Coke's estate indeed seems to have been considerably behind many parts
of the shire when he began his farming career.[500] When Coke came
into his estate, in five leases which were about to expire the farms
were held at 3s. 6d. an acre; and in the previous leases they had been
1s. 6d. an acre. We may judge of the quality of this land by comparing
it with the average rent of 10s. which Young says prevailed at this
time. With a view to remedy this state of things he studied the
agriculture of other counties, and his observations thereon reveal a
very poor kind of farming in many places: in Cheshire the rich pasture
was wasted and the poor impoverished by sheer ignorance, in Yorkshire
luxuriant grass was understocked, in Shropshire there were hardly any
sheep; in his own part of Norfolk the usual rotation was three white
straw crops and then broadcast turnips.[501] This Coke changed to two